Don't Go Dropping Glass Slippers
by heyashleys
Summary: Santana was just looking for someone who wouldn't waste her time. Brittany was just looking for a snack. And when their paths cross, they get far more than they expected.
1. The Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer

"Mercedes, do I really have to do this?" Santana asked for about the twentieth time since she arrived at the café where Mercedes worked.

Mercedes rolled her eyes at her friend. "Stop complaining, S. You sound like I'm forcing you to come clean to your parents about the time you ordered pay per view porn and blamed it on your uncle who had visited the day before."

It was Santana's turn to roll her eyes. "Quit holding that over my head, that was nearly a decade ago. And Uncle Vic is a perv, they totally believed that he did it. But that's not what we're talking about," Santana snapped. "Are you seriously gonna make me participate in this? You know, when you asked me to come here I thought it was an emergency, not some blind date hoo-ha."

"It's not a _hoo-ha,_ " Mercedes chastised, "it's a nice little event where you can meet new people and I thought it'd be good for you."

"How is being forced to sit and talk with total strangers that I'm probably never gonna care about another day in my life good for me?"

"Because _,"_ Mercedes stressed, "I'm tired of your mopey, lonely ass. You need some action."

Santana's jaw dropped. "I am not _mopey._ Okay, I... I am the exact opposite of mopey."

Mercedes scoffed. "Girl, please, you've been desperate to get into someone's pants for so long, your horniness is practically oozing out of you and it's embarrassing."

Santana's mouth opened and closed as she tried to come up with a response. "That's... that is..."

"True?" Mercedes supplied with a pointed look. "Honestly, you know you want someone, you haven't been single for this long since... well, ever."

Santana huffed and sat back in her seat. That was true. She wasn't really a relationship person. Mainly she just hung out with whatever hot girl she found and fooled around with her for maybe a day or two and then moved on to the next. But lately, she's been going through a dry spell and it was beginning to take a toll on her.

Noticing her quietness, Mercedes said, "See? You know I'm right, I'm always right. And I know you're not into stuff like this, but who knows, maybe you can actually meet someone cool."

"Doubt it," Santana mumbled. "Only weirdos willingly show up to these blind date things."

"C'mon, I doubt anyone freaky will bug you," Mercedes said.

"We live in LA, 'Cedes," Santana pointed out, "every other person we meet is freaky."

"Okay, true, but most of the people that come here are regular customers who I've come to realize are pretty chill, so don't worry and relax," Mercedes said in an assuring tone.

Santana was quiet for a second and then let out a sigh. "Alright, _fine,_ " she groaned. "I'll play along with this blind date weirdness. Promise me you'll stay near and steer off any possible creeps?"

"Sorry," Mercedes shook her head, "but my shift ends in five minutes and I promised my parents I'd have dinner with them."

Santana's eyes widened. "What? You can't leave me here by myself with a bunch of strangers! What if I end up in the back of some dude's van who wants to sell my organs on the black market?"

"Jesus, you could win a gold medal in being overdramatic," Mercedes said under her breath, "Calm down, okay? You'll be fine."

"But– "

"Hush," Mercedes silenced Santana. "No more of your insane what-if scenarios. Just calm your ass down. You. Will. Be. Fine. Got it?"

"I– ugh... okay, fine," Santana crossed her arms over her chest.

"Good girl. Now, I'm gonna go get my stuff so I can head out. You have fun." Mercedes stood up from the chair she had been sitting in across from Santana.

"Yeah, bye," Santana said.

Mercedes pushed in her chair and had only walked a few yards away when she stopped and turned back around.

"Wait, I forgot," she said, heading back to Santana. "This is for you."

She held out a sleeping mask in her hand and Santana raised her eyebrow at it.

"What is this for?" Santana questioned.

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" Mercedes suddenly looked very amused. "It's a literal _blind_ date."

Santana's face dropped. "I'm sorry– _what?_ "

Mercedes cackled and dropped the mask on the small table in front of Santana. "See ya," was all she said before she jogged off, leaving Santana completely dumbfounded.

* * *

The evening air fluttered around Brittany as she headed down the sidewalk of an unknown neighborhood she had discovered while driving around. She figured she could use some fresh air, so she had parked her car near a children's park and got out to wander the streets. Not to mention, walking always calmed Brittany down and she definitely needed that to ease the aching in her head.

In short, Brittany's day had been hectic.

Long meetings, snooty people who were positive they knew everything, and as always, dozens of different people telling her what to do. It was the same story nearly every day. Now, Brittany was a patient person, but her job was starting to get the best of her. And speaking of her job...

Brittany felt a vibration in her pocket and sighed, knowing exactly who was calling her.

She pulled her phone out and held it up to her ear. "Yes, Sugar?"

" _Where are you?"_

Brittany winced at the nasally, demanding tone.

"Nowhere," she answered, "just getting some fresh air."

" _Brittany, we were in the middle of a meeting, you can't just leave like that!"_

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Come on, Sugar, you and I both know no one ever cares about what I have to say during meetings. My presence is pretty much unneeded, I don't know why you always force me to go to those things."

" _That's not true, we always listen to what you have to say."_

"Didn't your parents ever tell you lying is wrong? You know it's true," Brittany said.

" _Look, whether it's true or not, you cannot just leave! Not only is it unprofessional, but it makes_ me _look bad. And I am way too cute to look bad."_

Brittany stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes. "Well, I'm sorry I made you look bad. Can I go now?"

There was a pause and then Sugar said, " _What is with you, lately? You've had this attitude and I'm sorry, but attitude isn't really cute on you. Me, sure, but you, not really."_

"Look, was there a point to this phone call other than for you to complain about me?" Brittany snapped.

" _Yes!"_ Sugar replied, sharply. " _There's another meeting tomorrow morning, we haven't decided on a time yet, but I'll let you know when we do. And you need to_ be there, _Brittany. No more ditching, got it?"_

Brittany took a deep breath at Sugar's order. "Fine," she sighed into the phone, exasperated. Without waiting for Sugar to respond, she ended the call and stuffed her phone in her pocket, knowing she'd be getting a mouthful for it tomorrow.

It wasn't that Brittany hated her job, but between all the people she had to deal with... yeah, she kinda hated it. But her job provided her with a lot, and she didn't want to sound ungrateful by complaining.

Brittany tried to push the thoughts of her job out of her head. She was trying to de-stress herself, so she needed something more peaceful to think about. She crossed her arms over her chest, gripping her jacket with her fingers and continued down the sidewalk, staring down at her feet.

Brittany had been walking for maybe ten minutes when she turned on a street that was more crowded than the previous ones and she realized that instead of houses, there were various different shops where small crowds of people headed in and out of. She walked down the street, making sure to keep her distance from everyone else and looked around. She passed by a little thrift shop, a bookstore, and a salon.

It wasn't until the smell of hair care products seeping through the door of the salon left her, that Brittany noticed that she was coming up to what looked like a coffee shop.

She looked up and saw that the sign on top of it read _Café Berry._ She didn't think much of it until, all of a sudden, she felt her stomach growl. Realizing that she hadn't eaten in hours, she figured that maybe she could get a snack that could hold her until she got home and heated up her leftover Chinese food for dinner. Brittany reached into her back pocket to make sure she didn't leave her wallet in her car and was relieved to feel that it was there. She took her sunglasses that had been dangling on her shirt collar and slipped them on. She knew it wasn't sunny and she didn't want to be one of _those_ people, but she had her reasons.

With that, Brittany made her way towards the café. When she reached it, she opened the door, which jingled as she did, and took a step inside. The smell of coffee and baked pastries hit her instantly and she could feel her stomach growl twice as hard. But before she could even take another step, a shrill voice stopped her.

"Hello, do you by any chance happen to be here for our Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer?"

Brittany had to stop herself from jumping and turned to where the voice came from. She was met with a woman that looked to be about her age, sitting behind a small plastic table beside the door, staring up at her with a smile so wide, it almost creeped Brittany out. Well, that and the fact that she was wearing a bright red headband and a matching sweater with big white polka dots, that made her look reminiscent of a clown. And Brittany always hated clowns.

"Sorry, what?" Brittany asked.

"I said, do you happen to be here for our Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer?" Clown girl repeated without missing a beat.

"Uh... no. I just wanted to grab a snack," Brittany said.

"Well then, would you be interested in joining our Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer?" Peppy McGee said, batting her eyelashes.

"Okay, you gotta stop saying that," Brittany couldn't help the words leaving her mouth. "And sorry I don't wanna join your blind date... whatever, I just want a snack."

The girl looked at her blankly for a split second before launching into an obviously rehearsed speech at top speed. "Listen, Miss, I realize you may be busy but if you have a minute to spare, I must ask that you take part in our Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer. Tickets are only four dollars, and for that small price you may very well meet your soulmate through our fun and creative dating game. If you purchase a ticket, you won't only be possibly finding the love of your life, you'd also be helping a middle-class family with their income. We don't normally get many customers in our small, family-run café, but we have managed to make quite a good profit from selling these tickets for our Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer so far and if you contributed, we would be ever so grateful– "

"Oh my god, if I buy a ticket, will you quit talking?" Brittany interrupted. Jesus, and she thought Sugar had a big mouth.

Not being phased by Brittany's snappiness, Little Miss Sunshine smiled an even wider smile. "Oh, that would be outstanding!"

Brittany heaved a sigh. She couldn't believe she had been talked into that. She pulled out her wallet, opened it, and fished out a five dollar bill. She handed it to Motormouth, and mumbled, "Keep the change."

The girl gleefully took it from her and stuffed it in a box beside her. "Now, would you like a red, green, or blue ticket?"

Brittany furrowed her brow. "What's the difference?"

The girl pointed to a small sign at the edge of the table that Brittany hadn't noticed. On the sign were the three colors and beside them were the meanings for them.

"Red: opposite sex, green: girls looking for girls, blue: boys looking for boys... " Brittany read and then raised an eyebrow.

"We like to be inclusive," Polka Dot informed her. "You see, I have two gay dads, who were the ones who put together this little soirée and also happen to be the owners of this fine establishment, hence the name _Café Berry_ – our last names are Berry – and we all know that everyone has different sexual preferences, so we figured this would be appropriate."

"Right," Brittany slowly nodded. That was actually pretty clever.

"So, I doubt you're a boy looking for a boy," Headband chuckled, "So, what'll it be? Red or green?"

"Um... " Brittany bit her lip. She liked both boys and girls, she was bi after all. Although, her last few relationships (though she could hardly call them that) had been with men. However, that wasn't really her doing as much as it was Sugar trying to play matchmaker. She kinda missed being with women. She doubted she'd get any action from this rinky-dink café, but what the hell, she needed something to take her mind off her stressful as hell job and what was the worst that could happen?

"Green," Brittany said firmly. "Give me green."

"Alright," Fuzzy Sweater said, and picked out a green ticket to hand to Brittany. She looked down at a piece of paper in front of her and said, "Ooh! There's an open spot at table seven. There was an odd number of ladies who showed up, so unfortunately, one of them had to sit on her own but now that you're here, she can have someone to chat with, how exciting!"

"Yeah, sure," Brittany said dryly. "So, table seven?"

"Right," the other girl beamed and pointed in the direction of it. "Past the counter, in the corner."

"Well, okay then," Brittany said, wasting no time in heading that way and getting away from Talks-a-Lot.

The other girl watched as Brittany walked away and then jolted as she realized she forgot something. "Wait, you need your blindfold... " she trailed off, knowing Brittany hadn't heard her, seeing as she was already gone. With a sigh, she said, "Oh well."

* * *

Santana was annoyed. Not only had she been dragged along to participate in this blind date foolery (Mercedes, conveniently leaving out that this was a _blind_ date, in every aspect of the word) but she had been sitting there on her ass for nearly five minutes, all alone.

When Mercedes had left her, she had flagged down one of the Mr. Berries and demanded an explanation for the need of a mask. He had told her that he and his husband thought it was a clever way to get to know someone without the factor of how they look coming into play.

"People can be very picky and shallow," he had said. "So, we thought it'd be fun to blindfold people. You know, you check in with Rachel at the front, she gives you your ticket and mask and you put it on, then my husband and I lead you to your seat. Although, you're already seated since you were early. I do ask that you put your blindfold on now before anyone else shows up. Can't have you breaking any rules, can we?"

So, Santana begrudgingly put the damn mask on and sat back in her chair, waiting for whoever to show up and hopefully spike some sort of interest in her.

However, when the Berries had announced that the Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer had begun, (honestly, what kind of name was that?) one of the men went up to her and had apologized, saying that she'd have to wait a bit because there wasn't an even number of females with a green ticket and she was the odd one out.

"What, how am I the one that's left out, I was like the first one here," she exclaimed. Not that she was really upset with not participating, though.

"Well, you are sitting in the very back and we started seating people in the front so they wouldn't have to walk far while blindfolded," whichever Mr. Berry she was talking to pointed out. "But, don't worry, I'm sure another lovely lady will turn up soon who can be paired with you."

Santana rolled her eyes behind her mask. "Yeah, okay, whatever. Well, since I'm not talking to anyone, can I take this thing off," she asked, reaching up to her mask.

"No, no, it's best if you leave it on," Mr. Berry assured her. Santana sighed and dropped her hand. "We're positive someone will show up for you, now in the meantime, just sit tight," the man said, and by the sound of footsteps scurrying off, Santana knew he had left.

So now, as the minutes passed, Santana was still alone while everyone else chatted around her, she was still blindfolded, and she was still annoyed.

Santana had just finished coming up with what had to be her fourth revenge plan on Mercedes for getting her into this mess, when something – or rather someone – interrupted her thoughts.

Off to the side, she heard a voice blurt out, "Um, what the hell?"

That was followed by slow footsteps that got louder as whoever it was made their way towards Santana's direction. Finally after a moment, the footsteps stopped.

"Uh... this is table seven, right?" A confused and uncertain female voice said.

Santana sat up in her seat. So, someone had finally come along for her, huh? "Yep, table seven," she confirmed with a head bob.

"Okay... " the woman said, still sounding confused. "Follow up question, why is everyone wearing blindfolds?"

Santana crinkled her brow beneath her mask. "What, you mean you're not wearing one? That's so not fair, the Berries told me I had to keep mine on."

It was quiet for a moment before the girl spoke again. "Hold on... is this supposed to be like an actual _blind_ date? Wow... this just got real creepy, real fast."

"At least you have your vision still," Santana scoffed. "How'd you even get past the Berries without a blindfold. They're like... dead serious about always making people follow their rules."

"No one gave me a blindfold," the girl said. Santana heard the sound of the chair across from her being pulled back against the tile floor and she figured the girl took a seat. "Maybe they just forgot or something."

"Lucky you," Santana mumbled. "I've had this mask on for so long, I've forgotten what light looks like."

There was the sound of a soft chuckle and Santana couldn't help but grin at the fact that she got a total stranger to laugh. And she hadn't even been trying to be funny then.

"So, you gonna tell me your name or what?" Santana asked.

"It's– uh... " the girl trailed off and Santana furrowed her brow.

"What, forgot your name or something?"

"No, of course not," the girl quickly replied. "Um... you can call me B."

"B, huh? Alright, I can go with that," Santana shrugged her shoulders. Clearly this chick was being secretive, but she was a total stranger, who was Santana to pry? "So, _B,_ seeing as you're not wearing a blindfold, I don't see why I have to."

Santana lifted a hand up to the mask and had barely even laid a finger on it when B stopped her.

"Wait," she said, suddenly. "Maybe, uh... maybe you should leave it on."

"What, why?" Santana questioned.

"Um... I dunno," B said, and Santana could tell there was a hint of nervousness in her voice. Something was up with this girl. "It could be interesting, you know? Get to know me without seeing what I look like. That's the whole point of this, right?"

"Yeah, but _you_ are seeing what _I_ look like," Santana stated. "How come I'm the only one that has to play by the rules?"

"Well, I'm not really seeing what all of you looks like," B pointed out. "You have a mask on and I can't see your eyes."

"Okay, you have a point there," Santana gave her that, "but, they're just my eyes, they're no big deal."

"That's not true. Don't they say that a person's eyes are like the windows to their soul?" B asked. "I can't see your soul because I can't see your eyes. And I think me not seeing your soul is a fair counter to you not seeing what I look like."

Santana didn't know whether to laugh or give the girl points for cleverness. "I doubt you'd wanna see my soul, anyway," she mumbled, "but, you know what, fine. If it means so much to you, I'll keep the mask on. Just don't say the word 'soul' again."

"Fine," B said, and even though Santana couldn't see it, she was sure there was a smile on the girl's face. "So, moving on, are you gonna leave me wondering what your name is?"

"It's Santana. Not as majestic as _B,_ but y'know," Santana cracked with a small smirk in place.

"Funny," she heard B say with a little giggle. "So, uh, I've never been to one of these things before. Do we just, like, ask each other questions?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Santana shrugged. "I've never been to one of these either, but my friend pretty much forced me to do this. What about you, how'd you end up here?"

She heard a loud groan come from B's direction. "Ugh, it was that creepy chick up front with the big mouth. I just came in for a snack and next thing I know, she's talking my ear off about how I should buy a ticket. Finally, I gave in to get her to shut up. I swear, if I have to hear the words Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer one more time... "

A laugh left Santana's mouth. "You must be talking about Rachel. You're right, she's got the biggest mouth I've ever seen."

"Tell me about it," B grumbled.

"Plus she dresses like a clown knocked up an old lady and she was their spawn," Santana added.

She heard B begin to laugh again, and it was weird, Santana actually felt sort of... _accomplished_ of herself for making this girl laugh this many times in just a short period of time. Plus, she had to admit B had a pretty cute laugh.

"That's kinda mean," B said, through a few giggles, "but... you're not wrong."

Santana grinned. "Well, I doubt you dress as horrendously as Rachel does. Although, I wouldn't know since you insist I keep this mask on."

"Okay... tell you what, I'll just describe what I look like for you," B suggested.

"Hmm," Santana hummed. "Alright, go ahead."

There was a small pause, then she heard B begin to speak. "Well, um... I'm kinda tall. I have purple skin, a green stomach. And, oh yeah, I'm kind of a dinosaur."

Santana snorted and rolled her eyes under her mask. "Right, okay, _Barney._ "

B giggled. "What? For all you know, I could be telling the truth."

"Well, in that case, I never expected to be on a date with Barney," Santana decided to play along, "I mean, I know I'm hot and I attract all kinds of people, but I never thought a kid-loving dinosaur would be one of 'em."

B let out a quiet laugh and then under her breath she said, "Yeah... you are kinda hot."

At her words, Santana bit the edge of her lip to stop herself from grinning. "Glad to hear you agree. You haven't been checking me out this whole time, have you?"

She had meant it as a joke, so she hadn't expected B to respond so straightforwardly with, "Oh, absolutely."

In that moment, Santana was grateful for the mask, otherwise B would've seen her eyes widen almost comically. Santana was used to girls tripping over their words and being sort of nervous when they first met her (maybe she was just that hot) so seeing – or rather, hearing because she couldn't see at all – a girl like B be so direct surprised her, yet it also... excited her.

"You know what," Santana said, straightening up in her seat, "I may have only met you not even three minutes ago, but I gotta admit... I kinda like you, B."

She hadn't expected to meet someone that would pique her interest enough so that she would actually want to keep talking to them, especially not this quickly. But needless to say, B definitely did.

"That's good to hear," B started, and Santana could hear the smile in her voice, "because I kinda like you, too."

Santana grinned in response and bowed her head. Maybe she wouldn't have to get revenge on Mercedes for making her do this, after all.

* * *

Brittany couldn't believe she was saying this, but she was kind of glad Loudmouth Rachel talked her into buying a ticket. Sure, she was still hungry because she never got the snack she had originally entered the café for, but as she talked to Santana, she found that the girl kept her engaged and took her attention away from her hunger.

She and Santana had only been talking for about fifteen minutes, but already Brittany was way more interested in her than any of the boys Sugar tried to set her up with. There was something about Santana that Brittany really liked. She was charismatic and captivating. From what Brittany could see of her face, she was pretty and as a bonus, Santana had quite the body. Okay, so maybe she leered a bit (or a lot).

Not to mention, Santana had the sexiest voice she had ever heard. It was raspy and laced with both confidence and sincerity every time she asked Brittany a question. With each word she said, Brittany hung onto every last syllable.

It didn't take long for Brittany to realize that Santana was a shameless flirt. Usually, she thought that people were pretty corny when they flirted, but with Santana, she just thought it was endearing and didn't hesitate in reciprocating.

The two of them figured they'd do the stereotypical question and answer thing people normally do on blind dates and whatnot, so they fired each other question after question. Brittany learned that she and Santana were both the same age, twenty-five. They had both lived in LA all their lives, Santana loved music and worked as an intern in a recording studio fifteen minutes away.

When Santana asked her questions, Brittany did her best to answer them while not revealing anything too personal. So yeah, she was kind of a stickler for privacy. She hadn't given Santana her full name, and had convinced her to keep her mask on when she wanted to take it off, because frankly, she didn't want Santana to see her face. It wasn't that she was insecure or anything – she thought she was pretty hot, if you had to ask her – but, yeah... she had her reasons.

When Santana had asked about her job, Brittany dodged the question by saying, "Um, it's nothing, just your average, boring job. I actually don't really wanna talk about it, I got really stressed out today and I just wanna take my mind off it."

"Oh," Santana nodded as if saying she respected that. Then she said, "You know, you're, like, pretty secretive."

"Uh, sorry," Brittany replied, sheepishly. "Is that weird?"

Santana bit her lip – something that made Brittany quite literally melt – and was quiet for a second before saying, "No. Actually, it just kinda makes me want to get to know you more."

Brittany felt herself relax and a smile played on her lips. "Well, that's good to know."

"Although, your secrecy does make me have to ask... " Brittany raised an eyebrow at Santana's words. "You're not some kind of government spy, are you?" She was smiling and Brittany let out a laugh at her question.

"Nope, not a government spy," Brittany assured her. "Though, that was a childhood dream of mine."

"I think that was almost everyone's childhood dream," Santana chuckled. "So, moving on... "

The topic of childhood stuck with them, so they began talking about their younger selves, namely when they were in high school. Santana told her about how she was a cheerleader for a while, Brittany talked about how she had been on the dance team.

"So, you're a dancer, huh?" Santana questioned when she heard that bit of information.

"I've been dancing since I could walk. Or, at least, that's what my mom tells me," Brittany said.

"Wow," Santana breathed. "You must have, like, a killer body then."

Brittany couldn't help the smirk that grew on her face. "I keep myself fit, yeah."

Santana seemed to fidget in her seat and said, "You know, is it really necessary that I keep this mask on?"

Brittany had the urge to laugh at Santana's eagerness to see what she looked like. "Come on, you can keep it on a little longer, can't you?"

Santana sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Secretive and also a tease... _god,_ you're killing me, B."

"What can I say, it's fun," Brittany said with chuckle.

The two fell back into conversation, now just telling each other random anecdotes from their teenage years. Somewhere along the way, Brittany removed her leather jacket and hung it over the back of her chair. She couldn't tell if the temperature in the café was just too high, or if it was Santana making her feel all warm. She had a strong feeling it was the latter.

Now, Brittany was currently laughing at something she found hysterical that Santana had told her. "Oh my god, no way!" She gasped.

"Yep," Santana bobbed her head, a coy smile on her lips. "A guy once called me a 'gross dyke', so in return, I slept with his girlfriend. And then his sister. I'd say it was a sweet revenge."

Brittany clutched at her stomach as she laughed. "Wow," she said, short of breath. "You've got a lot of spunk, I'll give you that."

Santana lifted her shoulders in a shrug and asked, "So, what about you? You do anything crazy when you were a teen?"

"Well, uh, I skipped class a lot," Brittany said, "but, that wasn't because I wanted to be rebellious or anything. I just couldn't stand being around the people at school."

"Oh," Santana said, leaning forward a bit. "Can I ask why?"

"Um... " Brittany hesitated. High school had been a dark part of her life and she did her best to forget about it.

Noticing her quietness, Santana rushed in and said, "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want."

Brittany chewed on her lip. She normally wouldn't tell anyone – especially not a stranger – about the messed up moments in her past, but... there was just something about Santana, _something_ about this girl that she had literally just met, that made her _want_ to say something.

"No, it's fine," Brittany finally said, "I'll tell you."

Santana's shoulders seemed to relax and she stayed quiet as she waited for Brittany to go on.

"Well, uh, high school was pretty rough," Brittany started, "At the time, I had decided to come out to everyone because I realized I was bi and all, and I didn't wanna keep it a secret. I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal, because y'know, this is LA and people are pretty accepting. And yeah, there were people who were acceptive of me, like my family and close friends, but uh... school was a different story."

Brittany took a glance at Santana, who was patiently listening on, before she continued, "So, one day, I was just standing by my locker, telling a couple of my friends that I was bi and yeah, they were cool with it and didn't mind, but I hadn't realized that a few guys walking by had heard every word. Needless to say, those guys told their friends, then their friends told _their_ friends and so on and so on. By lunch, the whole school knew I was bi. At first, I didn't think it was a big deal. But then I realized just how gross some people were. Boys kept coming up to me and asking if I'd ever be down for a threesome. Girls looked at me like I was some greedy homewrecker that would try to steal their boyfriends. It was like everyone's opinion of me had changed just because they now knew I was bi. I mean, I knew bi people often got a bad rep, but I didn't know just how bad until I dealt with it firsthand."

"Wow," Santana mumbled. Her lips had settled into a frown and she said, "That's ridiculous. So, that's why you skipped? Because people were assholes?"

"Yep," Brittany said with a pop of her lips. "I skipped so much that my grades started to suffer _a lot._ My counselor called me into her office one day and told me that if my grades got any lower, I wouldn't get enough credits to pass and I'd have to repeat the year. And, uh, it was kinda after that that I realized I needed to quit caring about what other people thought of me. You know, I didn't want to put my education or my future at risk because I let a bunch of assholes get to me. So, I stopped ditching class. I ignored what everyone was saying about me and put all my focus into my school work, because if anything, I was gonna graduate and get the hell away from all of them. So, that's what I did. And I actually graduated with a pretty good ranking and GPA for a chick who people thought was nothing more than a dumb slut, so." Brittany finished with a little shrug of her shoulders.

Across from her, Santana's face broke into a wide smile. "Now, _that_ is what I'm talking 'bout," she cheered. "Showing people up and determined to prove them wrong, I am _so_ here for that. I think you deserve a high-five."

Santana raised her hand up and Brittany had to laugh at the action.

"Sure, why not," she said and brought her hand up to high-five Santana.

Their hands smacked together and at the touch, Brittany felt like a small jolt of electricity ran through her. She glanced at Santana and knew that she felt it too since her hand lingered against hers for a split second before it dropped back down to rest on the small table. Brittany's hand did the same.

"So, anyway," Santana continued, "I gotta say, B, if I liked you before, I definitely do now. That's some pretty badass stuff, you know."

Brittany felt her cheeks warm up at Santana's appraisal. "It wasn't that big a deal," she said, almost sounding shy.

"I beg to differ," Santana said, "Like, come on, you had people treating you like crap for the stupidest reason and instead of letting it continue to bring you down, you said fuck them, and then did better than all of 'em. That's really impressive."

Brittany could feel a blush spreading across her face at Santana's words. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and the goofiest grin formed on her lips. She couldn't believe she was feeling this way right now, like a ten year old with a crush. She had never met anyone that made her feel this way, this quickly.

Brittany looked down at the table where their hands rested and saw that their fingers were just a matter of inches away from each other. She was hit with the sudden urge to feel Santana's skin against hers once more. If she had felt electricity when all they did was high-five, she wondered what would happen if they did something... more.

Brittany lifted her gaze up and her eyes flickered around them at the other tables. There were only a couple that were still occupied. She figured that everyone else hadn't been satisfied with their dates, so they decided to call it quits. But not her. She was _very_ much satisfied with Santana.

Looking back in front of her, Brittany's eyes fell to Santana's lips. Truth be told, she had barely looked away from her lips since she sat down. They just looked so soft and full and every time they moved when Santana spoke, she just couldn't help but stare.

Brittany bit down on her lip. The table separating them was so small, it only put a couple of feet between them. She could easily lean forward and just–

"B?"

Brittany heard Santana's voice, but she wasn't listening.

"Hey, you still there– "

Santana couldn't finish her sentence, because she was cut off by Brittany's lips against hers. Brittany felt Santana squeak and startle a bit against her lips, but the girl didn't pull away. In fact, after a small moment, Brittany felt Santana begin to kiss her back.

And that was when her brain all but shut off.

Brittany pressed her lips even more firmly against Santana's and melted into the kiss. It was funny, Brittany was never one for PDA, yet here she was. Hopefully, no one was watching them. However, she pushed that thought, and all her other thoughts, out of her mind and only focused on Santana's lips. They were just as soft as she imagined they were and they felt _so_ good pressed against hers. Brittany could feel warmth and electricity shooting through every vein in her body. She felt like there was a fire growing inside of her, begging to be let loose and burn free. It was unreal. Brittany had kissed plenty of people before, but this kiss... this made her feel _alive._

She wondered if Santana felt the same way, and judging by the way Santana's lips eagerly moved against hers, with no hint of regret, she had to guess that maybe she did. Her assumption was confirmed when she heard a low groan come from Santana, who then proceeded to press her face more into Brittany's. Brittany knew Santana could feel her sunglasses digging into her skin, but the girl didn't seem to be bothered.

The longer the kiss lasted, the more Brittany could feel herself starting to let go. She was on the brink of losing control and she didn't know if she could stop herself.

However, it seems that all good things must come to an end.

Just when things had begun to get more heated, Brittany felt Santana's tongue brush across her bottom lip. Normally, that would've driven her to her breaking point, but this time, it only did the opposite. At the feeling of Santana's tongue, Brittany's eyes shot open. At first, it was only because she was surprised. But then... she became far too painfully aware of reality rearing its ugly head.

And then it hit her.

She couldn't do this. Brittany couldn't be doing this. Kissing Santana in the middle of a café like she was doing was not a good decision. She had forgotten where she was. She had forgotten _who_ she was. As much as she didn't want to, she had to stop this. As much as it killed her, she had to leave.

So, with every ounce of self control she possessed, Brittany stilled her lips and pulled away from Santana.

"I– I'm sorry, that was– I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have done that," Brittany stammered, taking a large breath.

"What?" She heard Santana say. "Relax, B, it was fine, I was totally okay with it."

"No, no, you don't understand, I really, _really_ shouldn't have done that," Brittany breathed in a frantic whisper.

"Huh? B, what's going on, it was just a kiss," Santana said, concerned and confused.

Brittany could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she hastily stood up. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but I have to go."

Santana's mouth dropped open and she said, "Wait, what? B, what are you– "

"I'm sorry. Thank you for tonight, but I just... I'm _sorry,"_ Brittany repeated, upset at herself for getting into this.

With that, she turned on her heel and dashed out of the café, not caring about the weird looks she got as she did. She didn't realize that behind her, Santana had pulled off her mask and was staring at the door Brittany had left out of, completely perplexed.

Brittany sprinted down the sidewalks, past groups of people, and around every turn. She didn't stop until she made it back to the park where she left her car and climbed back inside. She leaned back in her seat and took deep breaths, taking a moment to rest from her little jog. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned.

She couldn't _believe_ this had happened.

Brittany sat there for a few minutes in the quietness of her car before she felt her phone vibrate in her pants pocket. The buzz against her thigh made her jump a little before she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone.

It was a text from Sugar.

 _Meeting is 9 a.m sharp. BE THERE._

Brittany rolled her eyes at the text. She could hear Sugar's demanding tone saying those words as if she was actually in the car with her.

Brittany threw her phone in the passengers seat, not caring to reply to the text. She sat there for another minute before she finally put the key in the ignition and started the car up.

She drove away from the park and began the journey to her place, all the while hoping that what she had done tonight wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass.

* * *

Back at the cafe, Santana was left stunned at what had just happened. One second, she and B were talking. The next, they were kissing (Santana still felt tingles in her lips). And then the next, B was bailing.

What the hell?

After B had said she was leaving, Santana finally decided to take her damn mask off – which she only kept on because B asked her to – however, it was too late. B was already gone, and Santana hadn't even gotten to see a glimpse of what she looked like.

This was ridiculous. Not only was Santana confused as all hell, but she was honestly a little hurt. She had liked B. She thought she was interesting, cool, and funny. Not to mention, one hell of a kisser. But now she was gone, and Santana was left wondering what went wrong.

Obviously, B had her secrets. She hadn't given Santana her full name and she had insisted that Santana keep her mask on, for whatever reason. Then there was the way she had suddenly freaked out and ran away after they had kissed. It was like B was scared. But, of what?

Santana sighed to herself and frowned. As much as she had liked B, she was right when she assumed she would be paired up with someone weird. Now she was alone and all she wanted to do at this point was go home and try not to think about the way B's lips felt as they moved against her own.

Santana was about to stand up from her seat when she noticed something. Across from her, where B had been sitting, there was a leather jacket hanging off the back of the chair. Santana didn't have to think hard to know it was B's. She must have left it in her haste to leave.

Santana got up out of her chair and picked the jacket up. She stared down at it as she held it in her hands. It was a really nice jacket, definitely not one she'd find in the small clothing stores she often went to. Either it had been a gift, or B just made enough from her job to be able to afford it. Although, Santana had no idea what B's job was since she had avoided the question when Santana had asked.

Santana furrowed her brow and her frown deepened. She folded B's jacket over her arm and stared off to the side in thought.

Just who the hell was that girl?


	2. Something About That Girl

"Three minutes, Brittany," Sugar said with a shake of her head. "The meeting starts in three minutes and you're _just_ now getting here?"

Brittany tried not to roll her eyes as she headed through the long hallway towards where Sugar was standing outside the door of a conference room. So, she got a late start that morning. It happens to everyone.

"Hello to you, too," Brittany mumbled, stopping in front of Sugar. With a sigh, she asked, "So, who are we meeting with, anyway? And please tell me it's not one those creepy geezers that can never stop checking us out."

"I mean, if you hadn't ditched last night's meeting, you'd know," Sugar shot her a glare, and this time, Brittany did roll her eyes. "But, no. It's not one of those old dogs."

"Then who?"

Sugar was quiet for a second (probably for dramatic effect, because she was just one of those people) before a sly grin appeared on her face and she said, "J.T Williams."

Brittany's face went blank and her mouth dropped open. "J– J.T... Williams," she stammered. Clearly, she must not have heard correctly. "Are you– are you _serious_?"

A wide smile appeared on Sugar's face and she nodded furiously. "Yes! I, Sugar _fucking_ Motta, scored you a meeting with J.T Williams," she exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "After you left, one of the guys at the meeting last night mentioned that he knew J.T's contact info and, of course, I convinced him to give it to me. Then, I called him and worked my Motta Magic and got him to agree to a meeting. Turns out he had an open spot on his schedule for today, how freaking lucky is that!"

Brittany stared at Sugar with wide eyes, completely stunned. "You... you actually... oh my _god,_ Sugar, I could hug you!" She cheered.

"Shh, keep your voice down," Sugar hushed her. Then in afterthought, she said, "And, I know, I'm awesome, aren't I?"

"Oh my god," Brittany breathed. She couldn't believe this. " _J.T Williams_ is behind that door? Then, what the hell are we still doing out here?"

"You're right, we should totally get in there," Sugar agreed. "Now, remember, look as professional as you can, let me do the talking, be respectful, and don't forget to thank him for his time."

Brittany felt some of her excitement deflate. Of course, even after she had called Sugar out last night about how she was never able to speak, she'd still be silenced yet again.

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled, "I know how these meetings work."

"Good," Sugar chirped, patting Brittany on the arm. "Now, let's get our cute asses in there and not make Mr. Williams regret seeing us."

* * *

Santana awoke with a start at the sound of someone pounding avidly on her door.

"The hell... " she mumbled with a yawn. She rubbed at her eyes, then pulled her blanket over her head. "Go away," she shouted to the best of her abilities due to her dry, sleepy voice at whoever it was knocking on her door. Although, she had a pretty good idea who it was.

Her suspicions were proven correct when she heard Mercedes's voice shout from the other side of the door, "Santana, if you don't open this door and quit acting like a five year old." Her voice was tinged with warning but Santana was too tired to care.

The knocking continued, but Santana ignored it. Then, there was a pause, followed by the door knob jiggling. And suddenly, the door to Santana's apartment flew open and Mercedes stepped in.

Santana pushed the blanket off of her and glared up at Mercedes. "I knew I shouldn't have told you where I hid the spare key."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her, then made her way to Santana's bed.

"What are you doing?" Mercedes asked, stopping at the edge of Santana's bed. "Normally, by now I would've gotten about five texts from you complaining about something at the recording studio, but you haven't contacted me at all since last night so I figured something was wrong. Come on, what's up, why aren't you at work?"

Santana simply shrugged her shoulders and rolled over on her side "Didn't feel like it."

"Santana, you never miss work," Mercedes pointed out, sounding concerned. "You know, you said you wanted to always make a good impression so your bosses would take you seriously, so you always make sure you're there, bright and early."

Santana stayed still and in a dry tone, she said, "I guess today's the exception."

Mercedes stared at her blankly for a moment before a thought came to mind. "Oh my god, you're hungover, aren't you?"

When Santana didn't respond, Mercedes sighed and shook her head. "Santana, you never get drunk during the week. You always save that for your 'wasted weekends'."

Santana groaned and finally pushed herself off her mattress to sit up.

"Look, I'm not hungover, okay?" She snapped. "Sure, I may have had a glass of wine or two, but I'm fine."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Then, you mind explaining what's up with you? I know you're not a morning person, but you're far more crabbier than usual. Jesus, who fucked you up?"

"Nobody fucked me up, alright?" Santana grumbled. Then with a grimace, she added, "Nobody fucked me at all."

Mercedes gave her a questioning look before it dawned on her. "Ohh," she said with a slow nod. "Is this about that blind date thing? Is that it? You're seriously upset that you didn't find a chick to screw around with?"

Santana threw her blankets to the side and crawled out of bed, narrowing her eyes at Mercedes once she was on her feet. "Don't mock me, alright, because it's honestly your fault that I got involved in all of this," she sneered, brushing past Mercedes to head towards her kitchen.

"I wasn't mocking you, and got you involved in all of _what_?" Mercedes questioned, following behind Santana.

"Ugh, that stupid blind date bullshit," Santana fumed, opening a cupboard to grab a cup, then slammed it back shut.

Mercedes watched as she angrily sauntered towards the sink and turned on the faucet to fill the cup with water. "Okay, so you didn't meet anyone that interested you. Alright, I just thought you could at least have a little fun, but I'm sorry you didn't meet someone you liked."

Santana took a long sip from her cup, then set it on the counter. She glanced at Mercedes and saw that she had a genuine, apologetic look on her face. Santana exhaled and felt her body soften. Shouting at her friend was going to get her nowhere, even if she was frustrated.

So, in a softer voice, Santana said, "That's just it. The exact opposite happened."

"Huh?" Mercedes asked, confused but grateful Santana had calmed down a bit.

Santana turned around and leaned back against the counter, wrapping her arms around her torso. "I did meet someone I liked," she said in the quietest voice.

She sounded as if she had just revealed a secret that she hadn't wanted anyone to find out. Which made sense. Santana was never one to openly discuss her feelings.

"Okay," Mercedes nodded. "So, you met someone, that's good. Then, why are you so upset?"

Santana let out an angry huff then raised her voice once again to shout, "Because I liked her and I was sure she liked me too, but next thing I know, she's fucking with my head!"

"Okay, can we go back to your quiet voice, please?" Mercedes asked, holding a hand up. "And fucked with your head, how?"

Santana pushed herself off the counter and walked out of the kitchen, nudging her head towards the living room so Mercedes would follow. Mercedes did so, and took a place on the small couch where Santana had already planted herself down on.

Mercedes leaned back into the couch cushions and turned to Santana. "Spill," she said.

"Alright," Santana sighed. "So, basically, on the blind date, I meet this girl called B."

"B?" Mercedes raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, B," Santana repeated. "Now, I knew B wasn't her full name, but y'know, a bunch of people don't give their full names to strangers, so I didn't question it. Anyways, you know how we were all supposed to be blindfolded? Well, B didn't have a blindfold because the Berries forgot to give her one or whatever. So, I was gonna take mine off to make things fair and all, but she told me to keep it on."

"What? Hold up," Mercedes interrupted, "She didn't give you her full name, and then she told you to keep your blindfold on even though she didn't have one? That's... weird and very low-key sketchy."

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I thought so too, but it didn't bother me that much, so I just kept the mask on and moved on. Then, we started talking and... I wasn't expecting it, but we were _totally_ hitting it off. We were asking each other questions and getting to know one another, we were making each other laugh and having a good time. It was like it was a _real_ date. And I haven't been on a real date in forever."

Even though she knew Santana was upset, Mercedes just couldn't stop herself and cooed, "Aww, that's so cute. Look at you being such a softie, Lopez."

Santana shot her a glare and said, "Shut up. Yeah, sure, I was enjoying myself and actually liked the girl. But then, of course, things got weird."

"How?" Mercedes asked, growing more curious.

"Well, she had just finished telling me this story about when she was in high school," Santana told her, "and then I said some stuff to her and I guess she liked what I said because... well, next thing I know, she's kissing me."

Mercedes jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "For real? She _kissed_ you?"

"Yep," Santana nodded. "Like, full on, making out in the back of the café."

"Damn," Mercedes exclaimed, now full of excitement. "Okay, now you've got me officially invested in this story, please continue."

Santana shook her head. "Well, there's not much else that I have to say except, after she kissed me, she started to totally freak out."

"What?" Mercedes face dropped. " _She_ kissed you, but _she_ freaked out?"

"Uh-huh, and not only did she freak, but she _bailed._ " Santana said, trying her best not to shout again.

Mercedes looked at Santana as if she had just heard the biggest scandal all month. "Girl, are you serious?"

"Yes!" Santana threw her hands up, still beyond confused as to why B had done that. "And I have no idea why! She didn't give me an explanation or anything, she just said she was sorry and she just ran off. And let me remind you, I couldn't see shit because of that stupid blindfold, and by the time I had gotten it off, she was already gone."

"So, you didn't see what she looked like?" Mercedes asked.

"Nope," Santana shook her head once more. "I didn't even get one peek of her before she had vanished and I was stuck at the café by myself."

"Wow. That's... something," Mercedes concluded. "Now I see what you mean when you said she fucked with your head."

"Exactly," Santana sighed.

After B had left, she hadn't stuck around at the café much longer and had gone home. Like she had told Mercedes, she had had a bit of wine, but then put it away, because it was true, she never got drunk during the week. So, she just curled up in bed and was left alone with her confusion and frustration that B had brought upon her.

"You know," Santana heard Mercedes begin to say, "I wouldn't be surprised if that girl wasn't even who she said she was. Maybe she was, like, a catfish or something."

Santana would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about that possibility. However, she disagreed. "Nah. She just seemed too genuine to be trying to trick me or whatever, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt on that one."

"I'm just saying, it's weird for someone to just leave without a trace like that," Mercedes said.

"Um, well... " Santana trailed off as she remembered something. "She didn't completely leave without a trace."

Mercedes looked at Santana expectantly, waiting for her to go on.

"She forgot her jacket behind when she ran off," Santana said, looking towards her door. Mercedes followed her gaze and saw the leather jacket hanging from Santana's coat rack that she hadn't noticed when she walked in.

"That's her jacket?" Mercedes asked. "And, you took it? Isn't that, like, stealing?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "It's not like I wanna keep it for myself. I mean, if I ever find out who the hell she is, I'll give it back to her."

"Right," Mercedes said, standing up from the couch. Before Santana could ask what she was doing, Mercedes had walked over to the coat rack and grabbed the jacket, holding it out in front of her. She studied it in her hands and said, "Dang, this is really nice. She must be making quite the pretty penny to be able to afford this."

"Well, I wouldn't know," Santana remarked. "I mean, I asked her where she worked, but she didn't answer."

"Weird," Mercedes said under her breath. She continued staring at it before she threw it over her arm and stuck her hand in one of the pockets.

Santana's face scrunched up in confusion. "Uh, Mercedes, what are you doing?"

Mercedes shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to be a creepy snooper, but did you check to see if there was something in the pockets that could maybe give you an idea as to who this girl is?"

"I... okay, no, that thought slipped my mind," Santana admitted as Mercedes moved from one pocket to another. "But, don't you think going through someone else's pockets is kinda weir– "

"Hey, there's something in this one," Mercedes interrupted, pulling out a small piece of paper.

"What? What is it?" Santana questioned, shooting up to her feet and rushing to stand in front of Mercedes, completely forgetting about the other thing she had been saying.

Mercedes squinted her eyes at the paper. "It just says 'stop by drug store and pick up more gum'."

Santana felt her body deflate. Well, that was a buzzkill. She was about to say so as well, before her eyes caught something. On the other side of the paper, she could make out small, printed writing.

"'Cedes, there's something on the other side," She pointed out.

Mercedes flipped the paper over and her eyes traveled over the words Santana had seen.

"It's a business card," Mercedes said. "I'm pretty sure this is from one of those fancy office buildings downtown. Look, there's an address."

She handed it over to Santana who gazed down at it, making out the numbers and letters of the address. "Yeah... "

Santana bit her lip as multiple questions formed in her head. Was this where B worked? And if so, why had she avoided the question when Santana had asked? Was there something about this office building that made B not want to speak about it? Suddenly, Santana was far more confused than she had been before.

"What are you thinking?" Mercedes's voice snapped Santana out of her thoughts.

"What?" The word fell out of Santana's mouth.

"Come on, I know something is going on in your head," Mercedes tilted her head to the side, knowingly. "What is it?"

Santana didn't answer and glanced back down at the paper in her hands.

Mercedes stared at her for a second then said, "You totally wanna go to that address, don't you?"

Santana's head sprung up. "What, n– no, I don't wanna go there," she said, though unconvincingly.

Mercedes pursed her lips, seeing right through her. "Uh-huh, right. You mean to tell me you seriously don't wanna find this girl who you said you totally hit it off with? I mean, don't you wanna find out why she left you the way she did?"

Santana hesitated. "Well... okay, yeah, I do wanna do that, but seriously? Don't you think going to this address and trying to track this girl down is a tad bit stalkerish? I dunno, maybe she just left because she wasn't that interested in me."

"Santana, come on!" Mercedes cried. "You said you and this girl spent the whole time getting to know each other, making each other laugh, and then _she_ kissed you. People don't do that if they're not interested."

Santana stared off to the side and thought about Mercedes's words. B _had_ seemed to like her. In fact, the girl had even said so. She thought about how nervous B had sounded after they had kissed, like a kid who was scared they were about to get in trouble with their parents. Maybe Santana hadn't been the problem.

"Okay... I guess you have a point," she said, looking back at Mercedes.

"You're damn right, I do," Mercedes said firmly. "So? You wanna do this?"

"I... I don't know," Santana sighed. What if she went around, searching for this girl and didn't find her? Then she'd be yet another pathetic, hopeless romantic. And she had way too much street cred for that.

"Santana, come on, what's holding you back?" Mercedes questioned. "You got an address. That's, like, your first clue to finding her. For all you know, this B chick could be there right now."

"Okay, even if she is, what makes you think I could find her?" Santana asked. "I don't know what she looks like, I don't know her real name. I have basically nothing to go off of."

Mercedes sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well... you gotta start somewhere," she said, looking down at the paper.

Santana remained quiet and looked down at the paper as well. Truth was, she did want to see B again. If anything, just for an explanation on why she had bailed on her.

Santana let out a breath and looked back up at Mercedes as she said, "You really think I should try to find her?"

Mercedes softened. "Look, do you like this girl? Like, based off of last night, and minus her running off, do you _honestly_ like her?"

It only took Santana a second to gather an answer. "Yes," she breathed.

Mercedes smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Then, yes, I think you should try to find her.

Santana looked down at the business card one last time before a small laugh left her lips.

"Alright, what the hell, I'll go for it," she grinned.

Mercedes squealed and hopped up and down, clapping her hands together. "Yes! Thank god!"

Santana snorted at her excitement. "Okay, maybe you should calm down," she told her friend.

"No way, this is _so_ cool," Mercedes cheered. "You're actually gonna go on a search to try and find this girl you like. You know, this kinda reminds me of that movie I took you to see the other week."

Santana scrunched her nose up. "Huh? What, you mean that movie about towns made outta paper? 'Cedes, that was so lame."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Nevermind that. But still, you gotta admit this is kinda romantic, especially for you."

Santana just shrugged in response.

Yes, she was aware that she was actually about to go on some trek to try and find B. If something like this had happened with anyone else, Santana would've just moved on and hooked up with some other girl, making no effort to remember the other one.

But, there was something about B that was different. Santana could feel it when they had been talking, and she especially felt it when they had kissed. There was just something about that girl that made Santana want to get up and go find her.

And, _god_ , she hoped she did.

* * *

Brittany remained still in her chair, trying to come off as calm and collected as she could, despite the fact that her insides were screaming. The meeting with Mr. Williams was on the brink of conclusion after he had looked down at his watch and stated that he had another important place to be soon.

Sugar was taking the rest of the time to finish up with some closing statements. Even though Brittany was upset that the only thing she had even really gotten to say was her name when she introduced herself and a few responses to some questions J.T had thrown her, she still had to give Sugar props for being one hell of a speaker on her own.

Brittany hadn't realized she had zoned out a bit until she heard Sugar say, "Well, I guess we'll let you get going, now. It was an honor speaking with you today. Hopefully, you'll take some of the things we talked about into consideration, and thank you for your time."

Brittany realized that both Sugar and Mr. Williams were standing up and shaking hands and she knew she had to do the same.

She stood up just as the man had turned to her with his hand outreached. Brittany shook his hand and repeated the sentiments Sugar had said, then sent him a friendly smile which he returned before he pulled away and looked between her and Sugar.

"I'll have to say," Mr. Williams began with a satisfied look on his face, "I get called into meetings about a dozen times a week, but this may be one of the rare times I'm not left feeling like I wasted my time."

Brittany could feel her heart begin to pound in her chest. She glanced at Sugar and knew she could feel the same way.

"Of course, I'll have to learn more about you," the man continued, sending Brittany a look, then back to Sugar, "but I admit, I _am_ impressed with what I've heard. I'll have my people get in touch and we could schedule another meeting, sometime soon. Who knows, you might even see a deal coming your way."

At that, Brittany felt like her knees were going to give out. She couldn't believe it. She wanted to smile, jump for joy, and thank Mr. Williams a hundred times over, but she knew she had to remain professional.

With another smile and a wink, the man headed out of the conference room, closing the door behind him, leaving Brittany and Sugar alone.

They waited a total of five seconds before it was as if a bomb had gone off.

" _Oh my god!"_ They both squealed, not even bothering to try and contain themselves.

"J.T Williams was impressed!"

"J.T Williams wants to have another meeting!"

"J.T Williams hinted at making a deal!"

They continued raving over J.T Williams this and J.T Williams that, jumping up and down, bouncing off the walls ecstaticly, like two children who were hopped up on a month's worth of candy.

They continued to express their happiness and excitement until it literally wore them out.

Now, Brittany was leaning up against a wall, heart beating fast and breathing heavy while Sugar was over in her chair, leaning forward with her face in her hands.

"I don't even know what to say," Brittany said, voice hoarse from all the cheering she had done. "I mean... was that meeting even real? Am I awake right now, am I dreaming?"

"You bet your ass it was real," Sugar assured her and raised her head up to look at her. "Britt, can you believe this?"

Brittany shook her head. "No, I... I honestly can't."

"Well, you better start believing it," Sugar said, standing up. "You and I have both worked our asses off for something like this. Okay, we have the fucking golden ticket of opportunities and we cannot let Willy Wonka down, alright? We can't screw this up."

"Believe me, I wouldn't screw this up if my life depended on it," Brittany replied.

Sugar nodded. "Good. Now, let's get out of here, you know how pissy some of these people get when we overextend our stay."

"Right," Brittany said, pushing herself up off the wall.

Together, her and Sugar left the conference room and headed down the hallway.

They had been walking for a minute when Sugar said, "You know, I think our good news calls for a little celebration. There's this really nice, fancy bar about ten minutes away from my house. Wanna go tonight?"

Brittany shrugged. "Alright, sure."

"Cool," Sugar grinned. Then, in afterthought, she added, "And just promise me you won't get wasted and end up making out with some random dude or anything. Remember, we gotta always make good impressions, and I'm not being anyone's third wheel."

Brittany felt her stomach flip at Sugar's words. "Don't worry about it," she mumbled in response, trying to play it cool so Sugar wouldn't think she had been bothered by her statement.

But the truth was, Brittany _had_ been bothered because Sugar's statement had only reminded her of what she had done last night. No, she may not have been drunk, and no it may not have been with a _dude,_ but Brittany had definitely made out with someone last night.

Once again, Brittany felt guilt coursing through her body. She had kissed Santana, then ran off without much of an explanation. That wasn't really making a good impression, was it? If she could go back in time and stop things from escalating between them, she so would. But sadly, the time machine she had tried to make when she was ten wasn't exactly functional.

So, she would have to live with her guilt and try not to let it get to her. God, she just hoped she could.

* * *

 **Author's note: I just want to say thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter of this story. I honestly hadn't expected my fic to get that much attention, so it means a lot that you all like it, and I'll try my best to live up to your expectations!**


	3. Cinderella Girl

It was nearing the end of Santana's lunch break at the recording studio when she felt her phone start vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw Mercedes's name on the screen. Santana had known it was her. She always called during her lunch break.

Answering the call, Santana held the phone up to her ear. "What's up?"

 _"Nothing much,"_ Mercedes greeted, _"What's up with you?"_

"Eh, the usual," Santana shrugged. "Everyone kissing our bosses asses, trying to suck up to them. Pretentious, hipster interns thinking they know everything about music. Same old, same old."

 _"I figured,"_ Mercedes said. _"Same old over here, too. Kids being as rambunctious as ever, but at least they're cute."_

Mercedes was referring to her main job, teaching choir at an elementary school. She just worked at the café during the evenings to get a little extra money.

"Don't let their cuteness fool you, children are tiny satans," Santana said, though Mercedes knew she was joking.

 _"Right, okay, I'll keep that in mind,"_ Mercedes giggled.

"Heh, if they're anything like I was as a kid, you know I'm right," Santana grinned.

 _"Lord knows I'd need His help then,"_ Mercedes laughed. Then she quieted down and said, _"So, uh... what's the status on your search for this girl?"_

Santana wanted to roll her eyes at Mercedes's predictably. She knew that question had been coming the second she got the call.

"No status, yet," Santana answered. "I haven't done anything."

 _"What, how come? Why didn't you just go to that address yesterday and check it out? You were home, like, the whole day,"_ Mercedes said.

"Look, Mercedes," Santana sighed, "it's not like I didn't wanna go, but it's just... the more I thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed. I told you, I have no clue what B looks like or anything. How do you expect me to find her?"

 _"Well... "_ Mercedes trailed off, thinking of a way to answer. Then, after a second, something seemed to come to her because she said, _"Wait, hold on. This girl was at the café with you."_

"Yeah, and?" Santana questioned.

 _"So, even if you didn't see her,_ someone _must have,"_ Mercedes pointed out.

Santana froze. That was true, at least someone else had had to seen her. Then, she remembered something.

"Wait, she told me that she had talked to Rachel," Santana told Mercedes, "She must know what B looks like."

 _"There ya go!"_ Mercedes cheered. _"So, just go down to the café and ask Rachel if she remembers what she looks like."_

At that, Santana groaned. "Ugh, I don't wanna talk to Berry, can you do it for me?"

 _"Nope,"_ Mercedes responded with a pop of her lips. _"You should do this on your own. Sorry, but it's not my Cinderella girl we're trying to find."_

Santana furrowed her brow. "Cinderella girl?" She repeated.

 _"Yeah, come on, doesn't this remind you of that plot?"_

Santana rolled her eyes. "Okay, you gotta stop comparing my life to movies. And, whatever, I'll talk to Berry myself. You just wanna see her annoy the hell outta me, don't you?"

 _"I will neither confirm or deny that,"_ Mercedes said, _"And good, you gonna head down there later tonight?"_

"Sure, why not," Santana shrugged. "I'll see you later, alright?"

 _"Alright, see ya,"_ Mercedes chirped into the phone before ending the call.

Santana stuck her phone back in her pocket and got up from where she was sitting so she could get back to work and complete the rest of the day.

* * *

Brittany was mentally exhausted.

Sugar had called her up that afternoon and requested they got together to discuss some 'important topics' so she had spent _hours_ with Sugar, listening as the girl talked and talked and _talked_ about all the things the two of them could do to further impress J.T Williams so they wouldn't blow their shot with him.

At first, Brittany had been interested in what Sugar was saying because she most definitely didn't want to ruin her chance. However, after hour two had passed, the sound of Sugar's voice had given her a headache so bad, she felt like a hundred bees were sticking their stingers in her forehead.

Her brain felt like it was in physical pain. So, after Sugar had finally freed her, Brittany decided to go to one of the few places that she knew would make her feel better.

She had just walked through the door of her favorite dance studio and not a second after she did, a voice rung throughout the room, greeting her.

"Hey, Britt, long time no see!"

Brittany looked over to where the voice came from and saw one of her old friends, Mike, smiling at her from where he stood in front of the mirrors. He was the only one in the studio, which was obvious as it was after hours. Brittany was lucky they were close friends because no one else would've gotten the privilege of having his entire studio to themselves.

"What up, Pop n' Lock," Brittany grinned and headed over to stand next to him, dropping her bag on the ground.

Mike chuckled at the age old nickname and said, "Not much. What's up with you? You haven't been here in a while."

"Yeah," Brittany sighed. "What can I say, work's a bitch."

"Ah," Mike nodded. "So, how is work? Sugar still driving you up the wall?"

Brittany let out a small scoff. "Only always. She's been drilling pretty hard into me, lately. But, I mean... I kinda get why," she shrugged, "She's just trying to make us get somewhere, so her heart's in the right place, I guess."

"Right, so I take it you're here for your usual de-stressing session?" Mike asked.

"You know it," Brittany said. "I've been so stiff these past few days, I need to let loose."

"I'm sure you do," Mike nodded his head. "Although, uh, I'm not gonna be sticking around here much longer, maybe half an hour before I close up, so sorry you have to keep things short."

"Oh," Brittany said, kind of disappointed, but she didn't let it get to her. "You don't normally leave that early, do you have plans or something?"

A sly grin spread on Mike's face. "As a matter of fact, I do. A date."

Brittany's mouth fell open. "Seriously, you have a date? Wow, good for you. Who is she and how'd you meet her?"

"Her name's Tina and a few days ago, she was dropping her niece off at one of my classes and she stuck around to watch," Mike told her, "Afterwards, she told me I was a really good teacher and we got to talking a bit and well, you can guess the rest."

"Well, that's good," Brittany smiled. "I know it's been awhile since you've been with someone."

"Yep," Mike said. "Hopefully, this date goes well and she can stick around for a while. Anyway, what about you?"

Brittany raised a brow. "What about me?"

"Well, I know it's been awhile since you've been with anyone as well," Mike explained, "Have you found anyone you like recently?"

Brittany could feel her stomach flip at the question. She had done her best to focus on other things, but of course, she had to be reminded, yet again, of _that._

"Uh, no," Brittany said, clearing her throat that suddenly felt dry. "I, uh, I haven't found anyone I've liked."

She didn't want to lie. She felt like she owed it to Santana to not completely disregard her because Brittany had liked her _so_ much. But even then, she couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth.

"Oh, well, I'm sure somebody will come around sooner or later that'll give you the time of day," Mike said.

Brittany sent him a strained smile. "Yeah, maybe."

Mike gave her one last grin before saying, "Well, I'm gonna be in the office if you need me. Have fun."

With that, he walked off past her to his office in the back.

Brittany waited until he had closed the office door before heading over to the stereo to plug in her iPod and selecting her favorite dance playlist. Soon, music began blasting through the studio. She went to go stand directly in the middle of the room and began stretching. Sugar had been keeping her so busy lately, she hadn't had much time for dancing.

But tonight, even if it was just for half an hour, Brittany was going to put her mind at rest.

* * *

It was late when Santana made it to _Café Berry._ She had stayed behind at work a few hours longer than usual to try and make up for missing yesterday, so it was late in the evening when she entered the cafe.

She stepped in and spotted Mercedes off to the side, waiting a table. Mercedes looked up when she heard the door jingle and flashed Santana a smile before focusing back on the people in front of her.

Santana looked around and didn't see Rachel anywhere, so that meant she was most likely in the back. She knew the back wasn't open to anyone but workers, but that didn't stop her from marching through the café towards the door labeled Employees Only, and pushing it open.

Almost immediately, she saw Rachel, looking as clownish as ever, fixing her hair in a mirror that was up on a wall.

"Hey, Berry," Santana called, heading over to her.

Rachel jumped, startled by Santana's voice. "Oh, Santana," she gasped. Then she frowned. "Wait, you're not supposed to be back here, it's specifically restricted for employees only– "

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Santana said with a wave of her hand, "Listen, okay, I need to ask you something."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "About what? Oh, is it about makeup? Because I've noticed your contouring is sometimes a little botchy, especially now that you're up close. I could give you some good tips on how to– "

"No, I'm not here to ask you about makeup," Santana interrupted. Then she paused and quickly added, "Although, write those tips down and give them to me later. _Anyway,_ the other day during your blind dating thing– "

"You mean the Blind Date Single Mingle and Mixer," Rachel corrected with a pointed look.

"For god's sake," Santana muttered under her breath. "Yes, that. Now, you remember the girl you sent to be paired up with me?"

Rachel thought for a second. "You were at table seven, correct? Yes, I do remember the woman I sent your way."

"Good," Santana sighed of relief. "Okay, I know this might sound weird, but I need you to tell me what she looked like."

Rachel sent her a questioning look. "Why?"

"Nothing, it's just... she forgot something when she left and I wanna make sure I get it back to her," Santana answered. That was partly true, and there was no way she was telling Blabbermouth Berry about what she was really doing.

"Oh," Rachel said, accepting the answer. "Well, okay... um, she had blonde hair. It was pretty long. In fact, I have to admit I envied the length, I've always wanted my hair to be that long– "

"Rachel," Santana groaned at the girl's rambling. She now knew that B had long, blonde hair. Great, now if only Rachel could continue describing her without getting carried away.

"Oh, sorry," Rachel giggled. "Going on... well, she was pretty tall. I'd say a few inches over you. She had on sunglasses so I can't tell you much about her face other than it was rather thin and she had quite the complexion, not a blemish in sight from what I saw. Or maybe it was just makeup, who knows? Um, she looked to be in good shape, so I figure she works out a lot. Hmm, I wonder what her routine is, I've been meaning to switch mine up... "

Rachel rambled on, but Santana ignored her. She'd say that description painted a nice enough picture of B in her head. Sure, her face was still the biggest mystery, but she could deal with that later. Santana turned her attention back to Rachel and cut her off in the middle of whatever it was she was saying. "Alright, that's good," she said. "Anything else?"

Rachel pressed her lips together and hummed in thought. Finally, she answered, "Nope, that's all I can tell you."

"Okay, I can work with that," Santana bobbed her head. Then, she decided to actually be nice for once to the girl that constantly worked her nerves and said, "Thanks, Rachel, that helps a lot."

Rachel gave her a bright smile and Santana sent her a small grin in exchange before turning around to head back out. She walked through the door and saw Mercedes standing near the counter. Mercedes turned towards her when she heard the door open and eagerly headed towards her.

"So?" She pressed. "You got a description?"

"Yeah," Santana nodded. "Wasn't much, but at least I have some basics to go off of."

"Awesome, this could make finding that B chick so much easier," Mercedes said.

"Yeah, well, we'll see," Santana sighed. "Listen, I'm gonna head home now, I'm kinda tired. See you later, 'kay?"

"Alright, bye," Mercedes said, patting her arm.

With that, Santana made her way out the café and back towards her car. She made the drive home with a little more peace in mind, now knowing more about B, even if it was just a little bit.

* * *

"Ugh, damn it!" Brittany hissed as she stumbled over her feet for the fourth time since she began dancing.

As it turned out, putting her mind at rest was a difficult task when her thoughts were like a persistent five year old, shouting _pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!_ Usually when she danced, she would forget about the outside world once the music started playing and would only focus on moving her body to the beat. But, that just wasn't happening right now.

Brittany let out an exasperated sigh. "This is useless," she mumbled.

She walked over to the stereo and turned it off in annoyance, then planted herself down on the floor, leaning back against the wall.

Mike must have figured something was up when he heard the music stop because Brittany could hear the creak of his office door opening and the sound of his footsteps heading her way.

"Hey, you okay?" She heard him ask, but Brittany didn't respond and stared down at the floor.

"Brittany... what's up?" Mike spoke again, coming to sit down beside her.

Brittany shook her head. "It's nothing," she mumbled.

"Britt, come on," Mike pressed, "I know you said you've been stressed lately, but I dunno... I get the feeling that it's more than that. You sure everything's okay?"

Brittany was quiet and continued staring at the ground. She really wanted to talk to someone about what was going on in her head. Maybe getting it all out would bring some relief to her, and her mind wouldn't be as cluttered afterwards. Lord knows, she couldn't tell Sugar, so maybe telling Mike would do her good. So, she gave in.

"I lied before," Brittany finally said in a quiet voice. "When you asked if I met anyone recently that I liked, I said no, but that wasn't true. Because I did meet someone that I liked. I liked her _a lot._ But... then I did something pretty stupid and messed things up. And, uh, I feel really guilty about it and I just can't stop thinking about what I did."

Mike furrowed his brow. "What'd you do?"

With a sigh, Brittany launched into the story, no longer hesitant to tell Mike everything.

She told him about that night where she had stumbled upon the café and just went in, looking for something to eat and how she had been talked into joining the blind dating game that had also been happening at the time. She told him about how she had been paired with a blindfolded girl named Santana who, almost immediately, she had thought was beautiful and interesting. She talked about how they spent the whole time talking and enjoying each other's company. And how Brittany had felt a connection with Santana, despite the small amount of time they had spent together.

"I don't know how to explain it, Mike," Brittany said. "You know, I've been on dates with a lot of people before, but I've never hit it off with anyone that quickly. She just captivated me from the minute I sat down."

"You know, if I didn't know there was going to be a downside to this story, I'd say all of that was the cutest thing I've ever heard," Mike said. "I'm glad you met someone you liked so much. But... what went wrong?"

Brittany sighed. "I kissed her," she blurted out. "Right then and there, I kissed her."

Mike slowly nodded his head. "Ah. I see."

"Yeah," Brittany mumbled. "I just– I don't know what came over me. I guess, I just liked her so much that I completely went for it without even thinking."

"Did anyone see you?" Mike asked.

Brittany shook her head. "I don't think so. There weren't that many people around and we were in a corner in the back, anyway."

"Right, okay," Mike nodded. "So, what'd you do after you kissed her?"

Brittany grimaced. _That_ was what she felt guilty for. "I ran off," she groaned. "I didn't give her an explanation or anything, I just bailed. I mean, I've never done anything like that before, you know I'm not the hit it and quit it type, but I just freaked out and left. I... I just feel like such an _asshole_ for leaving her there like that."

Brittany felt all of her shame coming back to her. She couldn't help but think how Santana had felt after she left. Had she been hurt? Brittany definitely would be if she were in her shoes and someone had done that to her. Sure, Santana was totally gorgeous and could've easily found someone else to be with, forgetting all about her. But, still, Brittany didn't like the idea of Santana feeling bad because of her own idiot move.

"Hmm, well I understand why you'd feel guilty about that," she heard Mike say. "But, um, maybe you did what had to be done. You got out of there before things could further escalate. I know you don't like to hurt people, but with your job and all... "

"Yeah, I know about my stupid job," Brittany suddenly snapped, "and the stupid rules I have to follow, and the _stupid_ image Sugar would kill me if I didn't conform to."

Brittany scoffed and threw her head back against the wall. If it hadn't been for her job, she wouldn't have had to done what she did.

* * *

The sun had already gone down for the most part when Santana made it back home.

She shuffled inside and slipped her shoes off, kicking them off to the side. She headed towards her bed and threw her purse down on it then walked over to her dresser in the corner to pull out some clothes.

Two minutes later, Santana had changed into a pair of sweats and a tank top and had flopped down on her couch, television remote in hand. She decided to just call it a lazy night and watch some TV until she fell asleep.

She flipped through the channels, trying to find something she would enjoy. However, after a few minutes of going from channel to channel, Santana realized either she just didn't like anything or all of the stuff on TV was crap because she hadn't found anything she was interested in.

She had just landed on a channel that was airing one show in particular that she couldn't stand about singing teenagers before she eagerly turned away from it to another channel that was playing what looked to be some sort of rom-com. Santana sighed and set the remote down, giving up on trying to find something to watch.

She picked up her phone, hoping to try and find something on there to entertain her, not bothering to pay anymore attention to what was playing on her TV.

About ten minutes later, Santana had scrolled through all of her social media feeds. Twitter, Instagram, even Facebook and she didn't care for that one at all. She was so bored, she was about to open up Candy Crush, when something on the TV got her attention.

One of the characters must have said something funny, because at that moment, the sound of a girl laughing filled her ears. And that was when Santana froze.

She knew that laugh. Or... at least, she was sure she did.

Santana's eyes snapped away from her phone and she stared at her TV, wide-eyed. On the screen, there was a small group of people listening to a guy as he talked about whatever, but Santana wasn't focusing on that. Her eyes traveled to a character standing off to the side, watching the guy speak. It was a girl with long, blonde hair... a thin face... who also looked pretty tall compared to the other characters. That description continued to flutter through her mind as she stared at the girl.

There was no way...

Santana was seconds away from hopping up from the couch and going to stand millimeters away from the television screen to get a closer look, when the scene faded away and the movie cut to a commercial.

Santana sat completely still, not knowing how to react. Because that girl she had just seen on her TV... that couldn't have been _her._

Could it?

* * *

"Britt, if you think your job is so stupid, then why do you put up with it?" Mike asked.

"Because," Brittany sighed, "Look, I honestly love my job, I do. It's just all the extra stuff that comes with it that I can't stand."

"Well, you don't really have much of a choice but to deal with all the extra stuff," Mike said, apologetically. "You _are_ an actress, after all."

Brittany felt herself cringe at the word. "Yeah, I know," she grumbled.

It was that title of hers, _actress,_ that made her life so different. Sure, she wasn't close to being A-list and she had only been in a handful of productions – mainly indie projects – but her name was still out there. She couldn't screw up, especially not when she was working on building her career even further, hopefully with the helps of J.T Williams, who was one of the most renowned, present-day producers in LA.

She needed all the good press she could get, so that meant not doing anything stupid... like making out with someone in the middle of a café.

See, that was another thing. Brittany didn't just walk away from Santana because she was worried about her image. She also left because Santana was just a normal girl, living her life and doing her own thing. Brittany didn't want to drag her down into a mess that could've been created because _she_ let herself get out of control. She didn't want Santana to deal with any crap because of her. She didn't want an innocent woman to fall into the hands of the media and their possible nastiness.

Brittany stayed deep in her thoughts and was quiet for so long that she hadn't realized Mike had stood up.

"Listen," his voice interrupted her thoughts, "I should probably start to close up now and get going."

"Oh," Brittany said. "Yeah, okay, I'll head out."

She stood up and Mike sent her a smile.

"Well, I hope all the stress in your life dies down. You deserve a break," he said, sincerely.

"Thanks," Brittany grinned. "And I hope you have fun on your date."

After that, Brittany had gathered all her things and walked out the front door, bidding farewell to Mike. She hopped in her car and soon began her way home.

As she drove, Brittany revelled on how talking to Mike about everything did do her some good. Some of the weight on her shoulders had lifted. Although, that still didn't stop them from being heavy. She still felt guilty about Santana and she was still stressed because of her job.

Brittany took the deepest of breaths and hoped that somehow, some way, a bit of relief would come to her. 

* * *

**Author's note: Hey guys, thanks for reading! Yep, Brittany's little secret is finally out! I know a couple of you already guessed it, but I hope I revealed it in a way that you enjoyed. Again, thanks!**


End file.
